


A Human Resource Problem

by igrockspock



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-17 00:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13647369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/igrockspock/pseuds/igrockspock
Summary: Kylo Ren captures General Organa.  It does not turn out as planned.





	A Human Resource Problem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boudour](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boudour/gifts).



> Hi boudour! Your prompt about Leia and Ben/Kylo having a confrontation after TLJ was irresistible. I hope you enjoy this little treat!

Leia awakened with a throbbing head and a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Opening her eyes wasn’t an option; just the thought of light made pain race through her skull. Memories of the night before drifted back in pieces. Bargaining for fuel at the market. A sudden sting in her neck. Her knees buckling as the world went black.

Now a presence was drifting toward her, achingly familiar in spite of his long absence. 

“You’re awake,” he drawled. “You can’t hide it from me, you know.”

She felt another pinprick and the hiss of an injection against her skin. An interrogation drug, she assumed. She counted her heartbeats, trying to brace herself against whatever came next: delirium, hallucinations, abject terror. Time was, she’d injected herself with whatever she could get her hands on, just so she could be prepared. Now, though, her mind cleared as the last of the headache dissipated. 

“Antidote for the sedative,” Ben said. “The nausea should clear up soon, if it hasn’t already. Are you alright?”

Leia cracked her eyes open cautiously. She’d expected to find herself strapped into an interrogation chair. Instead she was in a bedchamber. Her hands were cuffed, but she was sitting in a simple white chair.

“Am I _alright_?” she repeated incredulously. Her mouth was dry, but she was relieved that her voice sounded strong enough.

Ben shrugged. “You’re a valuable asset. It’s a reasonable question.”

Leia chose not to respond. She’d never been much for the name, rank, and serial number routine, but she knew better than to speak to an interrogator.

“I don’t plan to interrogate you, if you were wondering. The ragtag band you’re calling the Resistance poses no threat to me.” He turned and gestured around the bedchamber. “These will be your rooms. Not luxurious, but a step above most officers. I’ve quarantined the computer system, naturally.”

“What are you _talking_ about?” Leia snapped, unable to keep her silence any longer. “If you’re planning to keep me here to listen to your delusional monologues, please just stab me and get it over with.”

Ben looked back at her and drew in a breath. “I brought you here because I have a problem.”

“ _A_ problem? That’s the understatement of the millennia.”

He looked as if he might attempt to silence her with the Force. Leia shot him a look that said, _Try it._

Instead, a faint flush spread across his cheekbones. He cleared and his throat and said, “It’s a bit embarrassing, actually. It seems that managing a galactic empire is a somewhat more complex task than I originally imagined.”

Leia barely suppressed the hysterical laughter bubbling in her throat. “You kidnapped me because you think I’ll tell you how to run a genocidal totalitarian regime?” 

“Well, why not?” Ben asked, pulling up a chair so that he could sit across from her. “You certainly possess the skills for it, and you’ve lost everything. Together, we could rule the galaxy.”

She bit back another barrage of hysterical laughter. Maybe he had injected her with something after all, and this was a hallucination.

“Is this a _job negotiation_?” she managed finally.

Ben shrugged, pretending nonchalance. “If you want it to be. I’m prepared to offer fair compensation. Credits, of course, but also work you would enjoy.”

Leia was speechless, which he seemed to take as encouragement. 

“Sustainable food development programs, interplanetary aid schemes.” He waved a hand in the air. “Whatever you’d like to do. I’m prepared to provide positive inducements for planets that cooperate with our rule.”

She didn’t miss the slight emphasis on the word _our_. It made her feel nauseated all over again. 

“I do have advice for you, as it happens,” she said. Ben lifted his eyebrows inquiringly, and she continued. “If you're hoping to hire someone, it’s generally better not to murder their husband.”

Ben clenched his jaw. His fingers curled into fists. Then he took a careful breath and relaxed them. “I understand your antipathy, but you are a pragmatic woman. Your forces are shattered. Meaningful resistance is impossible. If you accept my offer, you have the chance to make the galaxy a better place.”

Leia shook her head slowly. “If you think you can lure me to the dark side, you’re more desperate than I thought,” she said, enunciating each word slowly and clearly. “Shall I explain what’s going to happen you, Supreme Leader? You’ll never be able to manage a personality cult. You need a personality for that, and all you have is an anger management problem. If you don’t purge your leadership of everyone loyal to Snoke, someone’s going to kill you. And if you _do_ purge your leadership, you’ll be surrounded by mindless yesmen who’ll doom your empire through economic mismanagement and supply chain failures. That’s what happens to _every_ totalitarian regime in the end, and that’s why I don’t have one of my own. Well, that and the fact that it’s _wrong_.” 

Ben rose abruptly. He’d blocked their mental link years ago, but she didn’t need it to feel his anger swelling. “If you defy me, you _will_ suffer the consequences. I’ll leave you to think on your pointless stand, and while I am gone, remember that you lack the power to defeat me.”

Leia watched impassively as he strode toward the door. Then she said, “I don’t need power to defeat you.”

He turned, frowning, and Leia reached out with her mind to yank the rug from beneath his feet. He staggered and fell, carried toward her as she pulled on the rug. Before he could react, she pounced on him, jamming her elbow into his kidney as hard as she could.

An invisible fist tightened around her throat, cutting off her air supply. The block between them dissolved, and Leia’s heart twisted when she heard Ben’s voice inside her mind after so many years. _Please, Mother, I don’t want to kill you._ Beneath the words, she could feel waves of loneliness and regret roiling inside him, but she steeled herself against them. Loneliness was the natural consequence of stabbing people who loved you, after all.

His grip on her slackened, and she used the opportunity to loop the chain of her handcuffs around his throat. Of course, he tried to choke her right back, but she’d been expecting it. Surviving this was _nothing_ compared to the cold vacuum of outer space. 

She held on until she felt his body slacken and his mind quiet. Maybe she was betraying the Resistance by sparing his life, but she had no intention of joining the Dark Side today, and killing her son would certainly bring her there. She rose and yanked the key to her handcuffs off his belt. Then, because she couldn’t help herself, she tucked a pillow under his head.

“Enjoy this last bit of comfort," she said. "It’s going to be very awkward to explain why your mother is loose on your flagship."

The door opened when she pressed his thumb against the control panel. As an afterthought, she reached for his lightsaber and smiled when it leaped into her outstretched palm. She was going to get back to the Resistance, and she planned to raise a lot of hell on the way.


End file.
